To help prevent weight gain, especially during the off-season, keep dietary fiber intake above 30 grams daily while making sure consumption of high glycemic carbohydrates is limited to during or immediately following exercise.

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I measure one teaspoon into a gel flask and take about two flasks to work. When the time comes for my Race Day Boost, I use warm to hot tap water, filling up the flask to about 4-5oz, shake rigorously, and drink. I have done about 5 cycles this way and find it very easy. I don’t use juice, as warm water helps to dissolve the powder better. It just tastes like salt water.

Thanks to Hammer client Anthony Parsells for this Hot Tip

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Want a cool treat on your next run or ride? Try freezing your Hammer Gel! Before your next warm weather workout or race, toss your Hammer Gel in the freezer until the gel is a thick consistency. Be careful, because if you leave the gel in the freezer for too long, it will freeze solid. Anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour is perfect for a single serving packet.

Thanks to Mark Ceccarelli for this Hot Tip

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Most everyone consumes 6000-8000 milligrams of sodium per day, an amount that’s two to three times the upper recommended daily dose for sodium. Therefore, the practice that some athletes follow, which is to consume extra amounts of salt in the in the days prior to a race in the hopes of “topping off sodium stores,” is without merit and a practice we vehemently do not recommend. Continue Reading »

Bob Corman, after finishing his last lap at 6:30 AM on Sunday morning during the The Davis Bike Club Annual UMCA 12/24 hour challenge. Competing with teammate Jay Kilby, the self-supported duo (no support crew) completed 374 miles in the 24-hour period. Photo: Jay Kilby

If you’re doing an ultra distance race, one where you’ll be racing through the night and into the next day, chances are you’ll need something to help you stay alert. We have two suggestions: Continue Reading »

As an ultra endurance rider, I usually have a low-grade fever after many events and some of my longer training rides which I have been told is due to several factors:

* Some dehydration
* An immune system that is not up to 100%
* Hours of pushing my body above its normal core temperature Continue Reading »

Jon Berghoff at his 400 Mile Extreme Marathon to help raise funding and awareness for the Front Row Foundation Photo Courtesy: Carl Drew and Lindsay Musser

Consuming an adequate amount of fiber is, as you know, a good thing for general health purposes. However, high-fiber foods, such as oatmeal, are not ideal pre-workout/race meal choices. Quoting Dr. Bill Misner, Ph.D. – “a high fiber pre-race meal may ‘create the call for an unscheduled and undesirable bathroom break in the middle or near the end of the event.’” Continue Reading »

Tolerance does develop with chronic caffeine use, even if it is only 1-2 cups per day. Caffeine stimulates adenosine receptors in your nervous system and with chronic use your body creates more of these receptors,creating the tolerance. This is called up-regulation (more of the receptors need to be stimulated for the desired effects which results in more caffeine needed). True that the half-life of caffeine is 6 hours, which means it takes 30 hours – 5 half-lives – to be completely gone from your body; however the receptors take a bit longer to downregulate. This can take anywhere from 1-5 days, differing per individual and based on the amount of routine caffeine intake. I routinely recommend people refrain from caffeine for 5 days before races for the maximal effects of caffeine if you plan to use it during your race.

Thanks to Hammer Nutrition client Dr. Michael Cohen for this information

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If you’re doing an iron distance triathlon and are making a multi-hour bottle of Sustained Energy or Perpetuem for use during the second half of the bike course, the challenge you face for a hot-weather race is how to keep that second bottle cold. An ideal way to do achieve this is to wrap the bottle in a damp/wet face cloth or dish towel, and then freeze it the night before the race. Continue Reading »

Kevin Pawlik Jr , flies first across the finish line, winning the Cat 5 Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, AL. Photo by Teressa Pawlik

If you’re a cyclist involved in a multi-day stage race, this Race Day Boost protocol – while not having any specific scientific studies to back it – has been proven quite successful with hundreds and hundreds of cyclists over the years: Continue Reading »